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Phoenix plants 56 trees in Edison Eastlake to mark domestic-violence awareness month
Summary
City of Phoenix, APS and local resident leaders planted 56 trees in Edison Eastlake during the sixth annual Planting Hope/ Paint Phoenix Purple event to raise domestic-violence awareness and expand urban canopy tied to a Choice Neighborhood transformation effort.
Phoenix city officials, residents and utility partners planted 56 trees in the Edison Eastlake neighborhood on Oct. 29 as part of the sixth annual Planting Hope event, a community extension of the Paint Phoenix Purple domestic-violence awareness campaign. The event combined tree planting, resource information and community activities intended to increase shade and call attention to services for survivors.
"Plant and Hope's success over the years is because of resident leadership and the power of partnership," Councilwoman Keisha Hodge Washington said, thanking residents and partner groups who helped design the grant that funded the planting.
City Housing Director Titus Matthews said the planting ties to broader neighborhood investments: "This community has dramatically changed over the last several years with the housing department's investment of more than $40,000,000 from the Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant," Matthews said, adding that the grant supports plans to transform 577 public housing units into more than 1,000 mixed-income units and build nearly nine acres of new or expanded green space.
Maria Morales, community program manager for APS, said the utility donated the trees through its Community Tree Program to help create cooler spaces where heat affects neighborhoods most. "This is the power of community," Morales said, and she added that families ‘‘will make memories under those trees.’’
Raquel Winn, strategic initiatives manager in the city human services department, described Paint Phoenix Purple as a 13-year campaign to raise awareness and connect people to services. She cited prevalence and local figures to explain the program’s focus: "One in four women and one in 10 men will experience physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime," Winn said, and noted the Phoenix Police Department received more than 33,000 domestic-violence calls in 2023; there were 84 known domestic-violence fatalities in the state that year.
Resident leaders who helped write the grant application also spoke at the planting. Delia Padilla, a member of the resident leadership council, said resident training and local projects such as a Little Free Pantry grew from the same community organizing that enabled the tree planting.
Organizers asked volunteers to join a community-center resource fair after the planting, where residents could learn about services such as shelter, orders of protection and safety planning. The city’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, Gorman and Company and other partners were listed among participants and supporters.
The event organizers said the trees — some selected for purple blooms — are intended as a visible, long-term reminder of the community’s support for survivors and to provide shade and beautification for Edison Eastlake.
